[August 29] Århus, Denmark: Beach & Hanging Out With Two Very Kind Young Ladies

The morning of August 29 started out with a bike ride to the beach with Jette and John. It was a pretty quick ride—they live about 3 minutes from the beach. The water is FREEZING but both of them got in the water completely…crazy!!! Jette does this almost every morning. I imagine it feels good in a way to shock your body awake like that, and it must be refreshing afterwards. I just don’t have the discipline or blood for it!

Here is a pic of downtown Århus from the beach we were at. The pointy building in the middle is the Domkirke:

Me on the lovely seaside:

I love the panorama function on my camera!

Uncle in his woodshop:

To the left is a photo of what I have looked like on most of the trip. lol. Wearing the same clothes over... and over... and over again...

Later on, Jette was kind enough to ride with me into town to meet one of the girls I had met at the birthday party and her friend so I could hang out with them and listen to some of the music at the festival. I was really excited to hang out with some girls my age. We listened to some students from the conservatory perform in bands and I was really impressed. The two bands I saw were really good, and if I could, I would love to have a recording of what they played.

We walked around for awhile, then we went to the main stage which was right by the Domkirke to listen to a youth symphony play some Cyrian music and then another large group perform some Finnish music. I tried some beer brewed in Århus and it just tasted like any other beer to me. I’m not very good at tasting the subtleties in beer or wine.

This blog will probably have a lot of pictures of food on it! This sandwich I got at a little cafe was delicious and it was a pretty good latte too. I saw a lot of lattes/coffee in general being served in these glass cups, which is, as far as my experience in the States goes, different than how we do it at home. But it's better this way in my opinion because you can see the layers and appreciate the 'art' of espresso better!

These beautiful statues were outside of a casino. They were totally captivating to me. I am definitely noticing a trend in the types of art I am gravitating towards.

The three of us found a café and I had SUCH a good time talking with them, asking each other questions about Danish and American culture and sharing our opinions and thoughts on so many things. Like most Danes I encountered, they speak English very well and switch between the two languages with ease.

Later on in the evening, we went and met Jette at a little band performing somewhere in Århus. I LOVED it.

Jette (right) and her friend:

What a great day! I felt (and still feel) really lucky that I had the chance to hang out with the two girls my own age and talk to them. I really have Jette to thank for this. It schedules had allowed, it would have been great to hang out with them again. Well, maybe next time!

Later that evening, I started to feel pretty anxious about everything. I was thinking to myself, What the heck did I get myself into? I was feeling homesick and a bit of shock being in a completely new country and surrounding meeting completely new people all of the time. I felt scared (although I don't know why) and the thought of being in Europe until JANUARY 10TH was just too much. But really, what am I scared of? Making mistakes and uncertainty. But those are only opportunities to learn and grow which is what I'm here to do, after all! Logically, I know my worries are perhaps understandable but also a bit silly. I have nice places to stay, I have plenty of food, I have money in case of emergency... there is nothing I should be afraid of.

I know I just have to take it one step at a time. I just think back to a few years ago and I would NEVER have been able to handle all of this. It feels so good to be managing everything!